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Should South Florida become its own state?


larrysofla

South Florida as its own state!  

100 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you like to see South Florida (Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) become their own state?

    • No, I like being a part of the state of Florida.
      64
    • Yes, South Florida and the rest of Florida share very little in common, and self governance is a good idea.
      33
    • I'm not sure.
      3
  2. 2. What is your over all level of happiness with how thing are being run in the State of Florida right now?

    • Very happy
      8
    • Somewhat happy
      27
    • Neutral
      25
    • Somewhat unhappy
      20
    • Very unhappy
      16
    • Enough of this already, let's just secede from the state!
      4
  3. 3. Where are you on the political spectrum?

    • Conservative
      19
    • Moderate (right leaning)
      25
    • Moderate (left leaning)
      23
    • Liberal/Progressive
      33


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First of all, let me say that I agree wholeheartedly with what poonther has said. Splitting Florida up is ridiculous, even if it is so different in culture from one end of the state to the other.

I just felt the need to chime in on this:

I dont view it as anything personal against the people up north its just that people generally don't like being governed by an institution that is like 500 MILES AWAY!! (Can anyone think of any other major city that is farther away from its State capital? Only San Diego comes to mind). Maybe if the capital was moved to Orlando or something South Floridians might feel a little more connected to the state they inhabit.

What about Las Vegas and Carson City in Nevada or Chicago and Springfield (though Springfield and the state government are almost completely subservient to Chicago).

Edited by ironchapman
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First of all, let me say that I agree wholeheartedly with what poonther has said. Splitting Florida up is ridiculous, even if it is so different in culture from one end of the state to the other.

I just felt the need to chime in on this:

What about Las Vegas and Carson City in Nevada or Chicago and Springfield (though Springfield and the state government are almost completely subservient to Chicago).

Chicago and Springfield are closer together than Miami and Orlando. Carson and LV are much closer together than Miami and Tally as well.

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Chicago and Springfield are closer together than Miami and Orlando. Carson and LV are much closer together than Miami and Tally as well.

Yes and No!

Chicago and Springfield according to Mapquest are 199 miles apart and driving time is 3hrs 16min.

LV and CC are NOT much closer than Miami and Tally. LV to CC 438 miles but w/ no interstate Mapquest says it takes 8 hrs 59 min while Miami to Tally is 480 miles and takes 7hrs 11 mins.

Some more distances just for fun according to Mapquest...yeah I know you can drive it faster than they say, so can I.

LA to Sacramento: 385 miles driving time 5hrs 45 mins

San Diego to Sacramento: 505 miles driving time 7hrs 41 mins

And the big one that no one has mentioned yet: Anchorage, AK to Juneau, AK 852 miles taking 21hrs 8mins to drive and you must leave the country (Canada) to drive there.

So again, I'll say Florida isn't that unique in this distance thing.

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I'm from Jax and I even felt compelled to vote no. It is division that weakens us and creates conflict. Both Tampa and Orlando are closer related to S Fl than Jax or anything else, should we let them go with S Fl no. Should S Fl secede by itself, no. That's ridiculous. When you think about it, it is diversity that makes FL cool for out of state people.

NE Fl has the river and marshes and nature preserves and St. Augustine

NW FL has the Gulf beaches and the capital and is laid back

Central FL has theme parks and rocket launches

S FL has beaches, resorts, and international flair

If we divide all this up, it makes it less appealing to come in and visit the state (people have to adapt to change before normalcy returns).

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As much as we may think it's a good idea, it simply won't happen. South Florida is drastically different than North Florida and is in essense, it's own state. But we just can't deny it as part of the state. Someone from northern California probably thinks LA should be it's own state, but it's part of the culture and fabric of California. I mean......Florida wouldn't be Florida without South Florida...the beaches, old folks and latin culture.

I think it's important to make a distinction between South Florida and Southwest Florida. They are not the same thing people!!! :P When I think of SW Florida, I think of old people and tons of golf courses. When I think about South Florida, I think of totally something else.

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You know I've often wondered this too. You rarely hear Southeast Florida and if you do, it's usually an outsider. Whenever I say South Florida I am always referring to the urban counties of Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. I consider Martin and St. Lucie and Indian River to be the Treasure Coast and Monroe to be the Keys. Whenever I refer to Naples/Ft. Myers I always say SW Florida. They seem to have more in common w/Sarasota and Tampa anyway than South Florida. My only guess as to why South Florida is used is b/c when it was first used, there was practically nothing over on the SW coast, so they just used the name South Florida. And I'll take it another step....why do we say North Florida and South Florida, but in California it's Northern CA and Southern CA. It would sound funny to say North CA and South CA.....ah the trivial questions that just boggle the mind..... :)

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First of all this is a rediculous proposal. If you want to go down this route than it would be only be a matter of time before Miami/Dade would want to seperate itself from the rest of South Florida because it's so culturally distinct and could in theory be economically self sufficient. I just moved to South Florida from the Orlando area and have lived in Miami and Broward county. Miami is truly a world apart from anywhere, not just the rest of Florida. Yes there is a distinct vibe there thats lets you know you're in Miami, however the same is not true for Broward. In my experience, Broward county is much like any other metropolitan area in Florida, suburban lifestyle with alot of strip malls and cookie cutter communities. Also, like much of the rest of the state, prior to the Latin influx of the 80's, South Florida was known primarily as a retirement community, so it to has a very young identity and history. JMHO

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^ Agreed, this forum's proposal is rediculous and just blankets the fact that the ENTIRE state of Florida is always overlooked for the Northern States and States that have less than HALF our population. Even as I write this, a $1B bridge is being built in Alaska and will serve only 1,600 ppl. Meanwhile, ALL of Fla's major metro's are suffering w/poor infrastructure. Now, You all tell me...Where's the outcry about that???

We all need to band together and demand more as a STATE from Washington, DC. Leave all this infighting alone.

BTW, I'm from Central Florida and it seems we get no respect from both North AND South Florida. There's more here than a Mouse, people.

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^ Agreed, this forum's proposal is rediculous and just blankets the fact that the ENTIRE state of Florida is always overlooked for the Northern States and States that have less than HALF our population. Even as I write this, a $1B bridge is being built in Alaska and will serve only 1,600 ppl. Meanwhile, ALL of Fla's major metro's are suffering w/poor infrastructure. Now, You all tell me...Where's the outcry about that???

We all need to band together and demand more as a STATE from Washington, DC. Leave all this infighting alone.

BTW, I'm from Central Florida and it seems we get no respect from both North AND South Florida. There's more here than a Mouse, people.

Yeah I totally agree Orlando is way more than just a mouse

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Yeah I totally agree Orlando is way more than just a mouse

Im going to have to disgree . Most of my friends belive that Orlando is more cosmopolitan and big city-ish than either Tampa or Jax. So much so that the other day they were talkign about the big cities in florida they complete left off Tampa. I corrected them and explained to them that Tampa was the second largest metro but they did not know that

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First of all this is a rediculous proposal. If you want to go down this route than it would be only be a matter of time before Miami/Dade would want to seperate itself from the rest of South Florida because it's so culturally distinct and could in theory be economically self sufficient. I just moved to South Florida from the Orlando area and have lived in Miami and Broward county. Miami is truly a world apart from anywhere, not just the rest of Florida. Yes there is a distinct vibe there thats lets you know you're in Miami, however the same is not true for Broward. In my experience, Broward county is much like any other metropolitan area in Florida, suburban lifestyle with alot of strip malls and cookie cutter communities. Also, like much of the rest of the state, prior to the Latin influx of the 80's, South Florida was known primarily as a retirement community, so it to has a very young identity and history. JMHO

I am in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties every day for work, I don't really see the "huge" difference you talk about. Sure there is some difference: Dade is more built up, has a bigger downtown, ect. And as far as all those suburban little cookie cutter communities you talk about... have you ever been to south dade? Not all of Dade is sky scrapers, not by a long shot.

Edited by larrysofla
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BTW, I'm from Central Florida and it seems we get no respect from both North AND South Florida. There's more here than a Mouse, people.

Wait a minute....u want to talk about Central Fla not getting its due respect...Try NW FLA...we are called the "Forgotten Coast" for a reason...hell it was so bad that they just stuck us in a different Time Zone.....

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Im going to have to disgree . Most of my friends belive that Orlando is more cosmopolitan and big city-ish than either Tampa or Jax. So much so that the other day they were talkign about the big cities in florida they complete left off Tampa. I corrected them and explained to them that Tampa was the second largest metro but they did not know that

I wasn't trying to say Orlando is way bigger than Tampa Im just telling you it's starting to become more of a city than just having a big theme park.

Edited by cameronm
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Wait a minute....u want to talk about Central Fla not getting its due respect...Try NW FLA...we are called the "Forgotten Coast" for a reason...hell it was so bad that they just stuck us in a different Time Zone.....

:rofl:

Yeah, NW Florida is most different from the other areas of the state. Even geographically, there's hills and such up there.

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FLAplaya your time zone line cracked me up. I'm not a big fan of Central Time Zone (I've lived in it before) because it gets dark so early in the winter.

Urban_Legend while you are correct that there are hills in NW FL. Hills are not only found here, you can find them all over the spine of the peninsula from Highlands County through parts of Polk to Lake and Sumter Counties and up to Marion and Alachua Counties and many more places. They don't call the Lake County town Howey-in-the hills for nothing. :)

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I am in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties every day for work, I don't really see the "huge" difference you talk about. Sure there is some difference: Dade is more built up, has a bigger downtown, ect. And as far as all those suburban little cookie cutter communities you talk about... have you ever been to south dade? Not all of Dade is sky scrapers, not by a long shot.

The difference I was refering to is more of a cultural/economic/social difference. The whole premises of South Florida becoming it's own state is because its so "culturally" different from the rest of the state, not because it's so more developed or physically different from the rest of Florida. There is no denying that Miami/Dade is "culturally" different from not only Florida but the even it's two northern neighboring counties. The speed of life and way of life, from what I experienced, it's drastically different than in Broward county. The diversity and international influence is uncomparable to the rest of South Florida. The food selection and variety aren't even on the same field. And the entertainment and nightlife are second to none, no one writes songs about Ft. Lauderdale, but just about every rapper or singer has at one point dropped Miami in a line. Miami, being the center of commerce/trade/banking with the Carribean and Latin America could be economically self sufficient. Miami is just a whole another world. I loved the place while I was living there, I left because of the horrendous commute time (my job is in Broward). From an outside view, there's South Florida, than there's Miami/Dade. Need more proof, just look at the amount of people who refuse to venture into Miami/Dade unless they absolutly have to because it's "so different" down there.

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The difference I was refering to is more of a cultural/economic/social difference. The whole premises of South Florida becoming it's own state is because its so "culturally" different from the rest of the state, not because it's so more developed or physically different from the rest of Florida. There is no denying that Miami/Dade is "culturally" different from not only Florida but the even it's two northern neighboring counties. The speed of life and way of life, from what I experienced, it's drastically different than in Broward county. The diversity and international influence is uncomparable to the rest of South Florida. The food selection and variety aren't even on the same field. And the entertainment and nightlife are second to none, no one writes songs about Ft. Lauderdale, but just about every rapper or singer has at one point dropped Miami in a line. Miami, being the center of commerce/trade/banking with the Carribean and Latin America could be economically self sufficient. Miami is just a whole another world. I loved the place while I was living there, I left because of the horrendous commute time (my job is in Broward). From an outside view, there's South Florida, than there's Miami/Dade. Need more proof, just look at the amount of people who refuse to venture into Miami/Dade unless they absolutly have to because it's "so different" down there.

I would have to disagree with that. 15 years ago, yes, Broward was drastically different, but a LOT has happened since I was a wee lad. A lot of foreigners have moved to many places throughout the county. Look at Miramar and Pembroke Pines for example.......Pembroke Pines is now like Kendall as far as Hispanics go. Go anyplace in Pines and it's like going anywhere in Dade....nothing but Spanish being spoken. The same is true for west Miramar. East Miramar, on the other hand, is like little Kingston with all the Carribbean folks over there. Other places like Lauderhill, Plantation, Lauderdale Lakes.....very diverse.

And a lot of those people, guess what, moved from Dade County and bought their lifestyles and culture with them. I would definitely say that Broward is now comparable to Dade, which is saying a lot. It's not a bad thing at all, but Broward is not the sleepy retirement graveyard it once was. And mark my words, the 2010 Census will show that whites are no longer the majority in Broward. Broward's got culture now, baby. :D

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From an outside view, there's South Florida, than there's Miami/Dade. Need more proof, just look at the amount of people who refuse to venture into Miami/Dade unless they absolutly have to because it's "so different" down there.

That's too funny, but it's very true! I grew up on the Dade side of County Line Road, but we've always done all of our business in Broward...shopping, banking, entertainment, etc. Why? My parents always told me Broward was safer (and it *was*, key word being was) and you could go everywhere and not worry about people not knowing English (we're white). My grandparents, who live in Hollywood, never, EVER go to Dade, because they have no reason to.

Those perceptions were once true, but not anymore. Nobody seems to speak English anymore in Pembroke Pines and Miramar. Crime has increased.......the credit union my parents patron (in Pines) was robbed for the first time over a year ago. In that same shopping center, people's cars are being broken into. People are more rushed and hurried than they used to. Broward's not so different anymore, and in many ways, it's now the same as Dade. Not that it's all bad, but it's just a fact of life.

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The difference I was refering to is more of a cultural/economic/social difference. The whole premises of South Florida becoming it's own state is because its so "culturally" different from the rest of the state, not because it's so more developed or physically different from the rest of Florida. There is no denying that Miami/Dade is "culturally" different from not only Florida but the even it's two northern neighboring counties. The speed of life and way of life, from what I experienced, it's drastically different than in Broward county. The diversity and international influence is uncomparable to the rest of South Florida. The food selection and variety aren't even on the same field. And the entertainment and nightlife are second to none, no one writes songs about Ft. Lauderdale, but just about every rapper or singer has at one point dropped Miami in a line. Miami, being the center of commerce/trade/banking with the Carribean and Latin America could be economically self sufficient. Miami is just a whole another world. I loved the place while I was living there, I left because of the horrendous commute time (my job is in Broward). From an outside view, there's South Florida, than there's Miami/Dade. Need more proof, just look at the amount of people who refuse to venture into Miami/Dade unless they absolutly have to because it's "so different" down there.

It's funny you talk about cultural diversity, because Broward county is MORE diverse than Miami-Dade. Broward's diversity index rating is 2.467 Miami-Dade's is 2.454. It is just a small difference, but it's funny because people think of Miami-Dade as being more diverse than Broward. Diversity is measured in how likely a person is to be a different race if picked at random, in Miami-Dade Hispanics are the clear majority, therefore it is less diverse. In Broward county there is NO one race of people accounting for more than 50% of the population, there is in Dade. Whites are, as of this year, a minority in Broward county (the largest minority, but still a minority at 49% of the population. So 51% of Broward is now minority, and that number only grows every year. If you want to check those numbers, as I'm sure you will, you can click the links at the bottom of this post.

The thing about rappers never mentioning Fort Lauderdale... most people from a national standpoint consider the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area one big metro (so does the Federal Government who combines the counties together for census reporting, and sees the area as a one metropolitan area).

As you can see from the other posts left by other members, Broward is no longer the sleepy county of the 80's or 90's. Things have changed big time. Broward has come into its own in a big way. The King Tut Exhibit (only going to 4 cities in America), the biggest thing of cultural relevance to hit South Florida since I don't know when, it's not in downtown Miami, its in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The first ever national tour of the Broadway smash musical Wicked, not at the Jackie Gleason, it's in Fort Lauderdale at the Broward Center. We recently had a OAS summit with leaders from all over LATIN AMERICA in attendance, not in Miami, in Fort Lauderdale off 17th st. When Madonna premiered her new cd to be listened to for the first time ever (the CD was accompanied by a body guard, and destroyed after it was played through) it was not played at a club on South Beach, it was played at a club in Hollywood at the Seminole Paradise. You get the picture. It used to be that every time something important came to town it was only in Miami, not any more. Now BOTH Miami-Dade AND Broward have got it going on.

http://broward.org/planningservices/bbtn18.pdf http://broward.org/planningservices/bbtn3.pdf

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It's funny you talk about cultural diversity, because Broward county is MORE diverse than Miami-Dade. Broward's diversity index rating is 2.467 Miami-Dade's is 2.454. It is just a small difference, but it's funny because people think of Miami-Dade as being more diverse than Broward. Diversity is measured in how likely a person is to be a different race if picked at random, in Miami-Dade Hispanics are the clear majority, therefore it is less diverse. In Broward county there is NO one race of people accounting for more than 50% of the population, there is in Dade. Whites are, as of this year, a minority in Broward county (the largest minority, but still a minority at 49% of the population. So 51% of Broward is now minority, and that number only grows every year. If you want to check those numbers, as I'm sure you will, you can click the links at the bottom of this post.

The thing about rappers never mentioning Fort Lauderdale... most people from a national standpoint consider the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area one big metro (so does the Federal Government who combines the counties together for census reporting, and sees the area as a one metropolitan area).

As you can see from the other posts left by other members, Broward is no longer the sleepy county of the 80's or 90's. Things have changed big time. Broward has come into its own in a big way. The King Tut Exhibit (only going to 4 cities in America), the biggest thing of cultural relevance to hit South Florida since I don't know when, it's not in downtown Miami, its in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The first ever national tour of the Broadway smash musical Wicked, not at the Jackie Gleason, it's in Fort Lauderdale at the Broward Center. We recently had a OAS summit with leaders from all over LATIN AMERICA in attendance, not in Miami, in Fort Lauderdale off 17th st. When Madonna premiered her new cd to be listened to for the first time ever (the CD was accompanied by a body guard, and destroyed after it was played through) it was not played at a club on South Beach, it was played at a club in Hollywood at the Seminole Paradise. You get the picture. It used to be that every time something important came to town it was only in Miami, not any more. Now BOTH Miami-Dade AND Broward have got it going on.

http://broward.org/planningservices/bbtn18.pdf http://broward.org/planningservices/bbtn3.pdf

Your points and my seeming ignorant is exactly what I was getting after in making those generalizations. Of course I know there's more to Broward/Ft. Laudy than just being Miami's lesser known counterpart. But the whole premises of this thread, and the absurd generalizations to support it, such as the rest of Florida is just a bunch of backwards rednecks or Orlando is nothing more than a mouse sounded ignorant to me. So in response I made alot of dumb generalizations an outsider would make about South Florida if they didn't bother to look deeper into the situation. Although alot of what I said is true, it's not the whole story. The same can be said for the rest of Florida. Yes, alot of Orlando's growth was initially based around the mouse but today it's much more diverse economy with rapidly growing sectors in high tech, healthcare and financial fields. Yes alot of the counties outside of South Florida are more conservative, but most of the major metropolitan areas in Florida are more moderate or are on the line, otherwise why we be such a swingstate. My point is this, making uninformed generalizations to support an argument is just silly. Yes South Florida does have it's own unique identity, but so does every other part of the state. Orlando is distinct from Jacksonville which is different from Tampa Bay which is nothing like Tallahassee, on and on. That doesn't mean we should all become our own sovereignties. If anything, that's what makes Florida

....well Florida. The fact that we are one entity with so many aspects to it is a good thing to me. There's not many places where you can experience the international flare of Miami and than drive a few hours in any direction and feel the old southern roots of "old Florida" or the eccentricity of Key West. So my answer to the question "should South Florida become its own state?" is simply NO, because Florida wouldn't be Florida without South Florida and South Florida wouldn't be South Florida without Florida.

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This thread is ridiculous, I was born in St. Lucie County and last time I checked South and North Florida were a union..as was Florida in general with the WHOLE UNITED STATES. Why on earth are you arguing? Be proud of your state. Middle Tennessee (where I live now) is just as different as East or West TN. Every state has different regions, different values, different views, everything. Stop bickering like a bunch of old ladies and enjoy the sun :shades:

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